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The Conversation
Laura Elin Pigott, Senior Lecturer in Neurosciences and Neurorehabilitation, Course Leader in the College of Health and Life Sciences, London South Bank University

Embarrassed? Why this feeling might actually be good for you

Embarrassment is generated by a network of different brain regions working together. Kues/ Shutterstock

Picture this: it’s your first day at a new job. You’re about to introduce yourself to a large group of people you’ll be working with – and promptly fall flat on your face. Not exactly the entrance you had in mind.

We’ve all cringed at moments like these — whether they happen to us or to others. That instant, full-body wince, and the shared, silent relief that it didn’t happen to you.

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